Jihyun was having a day with his daughter. Ever since they adopted Lucy, some eighteen months ago, it was the first time that they spend time all on their own, in opposition as a family. He usually had location shots and travelled a lot, while his wife and daughter had the usual demands of sedentary life.
Today, however, a fair-weathered Friday, MC was called into work all day. He did not have any shots to complete, and the young daughter of theirs had a half-day at the nursery. So, he was having a full afternoon with his little ray of light all on his own, and he is dedicated to enjoy it to the fullest.
She would not be five forever, after all, and seeing that he would soon have to travel abroad and it was going to be very hectic, the teal-haired man knew he needed to spend as much time with his daughter as he possibly could. He thought of it with great care and detail about everything, and it was exciting for the day to finally arrive.
He considered what could be more memorable for his daughter. If he asked her, she would probably want to go to the movies or out on the park, but he wants to do something that she will remember, and so he concluded that he really wanted to teach Lucy how to ride her bike and he just knew she was going to love it.
As soon as she arrived home, the little girl rushed to Jihyun as she hunted round the house for him.
"Papa, what are we doing today? What are we doing today?" She asked, excitedly.
He beamed at the girl. "Are you excited? Are you very excited?"
"Yes!" She shouts and laughs.
"Then I can't let you be disappointed, my ray of light. We can't be being bored, now, can we?" He pressed a kiss to her head. "Today, we're going to play with your bike. I'm going to teach you how to ride it like a big girl, all on your own. If you do well, we can go to the park next week for you to show off your skills. How does that sound?"
"Great!" The little girl beamed.
"Then go pick it up from the shed. We'll ride it on the sidewalk, OK?" The man instructed.
Lucy did not need any further encouragement, zapping out to fetch her bike.
"So, here we have it." Jihyun pointed to each part on the bicycle as he mentions them by name. "This is the handlebar, you use it to keep your balance and to control where you're going, and this is the chain, it's what transfers the movement from your legs to the wheels. These here are stabilisers, we'll keep them here until you learn how to keep steady on top of it. Got it?"
The girl nods, emphatically.
"Good. Now, remember: you have to be really careful when you ride on your bike. This is what big girls do, okay?"
"Okay!" The girl beamed.
Jihyun smiled as he puts knee and elbow pads on so Lucy was protected against any eventualities.
"Now, we need this." He held up the contraction and put it on her head. "This is a helmet. You probably think this is silly, but you need to wear this, so you don't get hurt. Never, ever, ride a bike without it."
"Papa! Let me ride it now!" She demanded, tired of the safety information.
He chuckled. "Okay, okay. Sit on the bike for me, please."
Jihyun smiled at his daughter as Lucy gently climbed onto the bike saddle.
"Now, hold on steady for me, and you can begin to pedal." He instructs, keeping a tight hold on the bike. "Don't worry. I will be with you every step of the way."
He moved the bike along with her, watching her very carefully, wagering that she was going to be absolutely petrified. To his pleased surprised, however, she was only a little bit wobbly.
"Keep going for me, I'm here. You're doing great, Lucy!" He said, stimulating her to continue. "I'm still here, okay? We're doing this for a few more times, and then you're going to try to do it on your own."
"Okay…" The girl responded, a little less confidently than before.
"I promise you'll be okay, little one. I'm not going to let go until I'm sure you're ready for it." Jihyun reassured Lucy as she looked back at her father for reassurance.
The man went through the perimeter of their sidewalk four more times, holding on the saddle unwaveringly. He began noticing that she was gaining her confidence, having a better control on the balance. It is time to let her try ride on her own.
"Right, now you need to hold on as tightly as you can and pedal as fast as you can, because I am going to let you go on your own, okay?"
"No! I don't wanna!" She refuses.
"But you need to try it, or else you won't know if you can do it." The man argued.
"I'm scared. I don't want to!" She insisted.
"C'mon, Lucy, I'm not going to abandon you, I'm just letting go." He goaded. "I'm still watching over you, I promise."
Lucy wanted to deny him further, but her arguing skills were not so well developed to find an argument other than "I'm scared" and "I don't want to", so she acquiesced to her father and nodded.
She did as he first instructed and went off of her own, at first going very well. Until, that is, she went around the corner to come back the other way and toppled over off her bike.
"Lucy!" Jihyun rushes over to pick up the girl, who was in a heap on the floor with the bike on top of her.
"My knee!" She let out in many sobs.
"That's okay, little girl, I'm here. I'm here." He cooed at the girl, leading her inside to the kitchen.
He set her sitting on the sink and ran to the bathroom to pick up the first-aid kit.
Evaluating the injuries, the father concludes that she just scraped her leg a little bit, as the pads protected her from the worst of it. He rubbed some antiseptic on it and put on a curative to protect it while the wound closes.
"You lied to me." The girl accused.
"Who, me?" The man pretended to be offended. "When did I ever lie to you, my ray of light?"
She rose an accusing finger, glaring at her father with all the passion a five-year-old can possibly muster. "You said that I was fine. You said that I wouldn't get hurt. You lied to me!"
Jihyun chuckled. "No, my love, I said that I would be here to help you, not that you wouldn't get hurt."
"No." Lucy denied petulantly. "I'm angry with you."
"Don't be like that, honey." He smiled brightly at the girl. "We both tried something new, and that's great! Getting hurt sometimes is inevitable, the important thing is that you have me and your mother to take care of you when you fail."
"But it hurts!" She bemoaned.
"What if I kiss it better?" He offers.
The girl huffed. "…Fine."
Jihyun gave one kiss in each one of the girl's knees. "It worked?"
"A little bit." Lucy conceded.
"I'm sorry for letting you do this. I thought you were ready to give it a go, but you weren't. Next time, we'll be more careful, won't we?" He apologised with a smile.
She did not say anything, but nodded tersely, not keen on trying ride her bike any time soon.
"Good girl." He beamed at his daughter. "Now, let's forget all that. Let's watch TV on the couch together and we'll have some sweets before dinner."
"Mommy don't let us eat candy before dinner." Lucy points out.
"It's fine if we don't do it every day." He told her. "We won't tell mommy that we have been eating candy, so she'll not be mad."
"Okay!" Lucy squealed as she clapped excitedly.
Jihyun smirked as he carried his daughter to the living room.
Their little farce did not hold much water. Hours later, when MC finally gets home from work, she finds her husband and her daughter, sleeping off on the couch, surrounded by chocolate wrappings.